Half-Life 2 Submitted to VU For Approval 44
Dreadlord writes "After years of rumors, leaks, and delays, Neowin reports that the release candidate for Half-Life 2 has been sent to VU Games for approval. Valve's director of marketing confirmed the story to GameSpot yesterday. "Yes, the release candidate went to VUG yesterday," he said. First words on the submission came from Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, "The RC went to VU yesterday," read Newell's one-line post on the hl2fallout.com forums."
Wow.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Wow.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wow.... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Wow.... (Score:4, Insightful)
I played Half-Life, and from the opening scene on the little traincar, to the end scene (fighting monsters or something) I thought it was an awesome game. I also bought Opposing Forces, which for some reason I actually played BEFORE Half-Life. (This was my first experience with an expansion pack, and I scaped together whatever money I could for Opposing Forces- then imagine my dismay when I found out that I would ALSO need to buy Half-Life!)
After a got a semi-decent Internet connection, I figured I would try my mad l33t skilz at Counterstrike. Boy did I suck. This was also my first experience with cheating on a videogame. I wonderered how those guys could hit me in the head each time!
I think if I went back and played Half-Life now, I would probably cry, but for it's time, it was a great game.
If they come out with another game (Half Life 2) with an intriguing storyline, some features on a game you've never seen before, and head crabs that slowly work their way down to your crotch...then I think it will be a great game.
But, I was totally disappointed by Doom 3- I can't imagine why Half Life 2 will live up to the standards we all are hoping for.
I agree (Score:5, Interesting)
I always thought the best parts of Half Life were the earlier levels, before you get out into the light of day. You start descending into darkness. Pretty quickly after the game proper starts you are teased with being on the surface, but you are forced back down. Then you get the long trek through the missile silo with its nasty yet excellent monster. After you get back to the surface it is still a good game, but it no longer reaches the lofty heights it had reached before.
I agree that Doom 3 was not as spectacular as we could hope for. I think it was the pacing (too regular) and predictability (far too predictable). Real horror works best when you _don't_ know what is in front of you. In Doom 3 you are guaranteed to have two monsters teleporting in and another one appearing from a sliding panel behind you.
Re:I agree (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:2)
The only good thing about Counterstrike is it can be played with only two people. TFC needs 8 to be good.
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Re:Wow.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Engines, graphics and abilities extend leaps and bounds in a matter of months, not years. As someone who's played the counter-strike source beta, I can verify to its lacklusternesss relative to modern games. Even Battlefield 1942, a 2 year old game. That's not to mention BF: Vietnam, Doom 3, UT2k4, and on and on. The ragdoll physics have been around since the origin
Re:Wow.... (Score:1)
Actually Hitman was beat by Trespasser (released in either 97 or 98). They physics engine was amazing at the time, even if the game was a commercial flop.
Re:Wow.... (Score:2, Funny)
For a multi-million dollar engine, i think its wise to spend a couple bux on raid workstations. And maybe a firewall.
Anyone remember the
Re:Wow.... (Score:2)
Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is the norm instead of the exception, which is why everyone in the industry hates big game publishers (except for the game "press" which likes that they give them plastic swords with the game name on them).
The Gabe Newell post is legit (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The Gabe Newell post is legit (Score:5, Funny)
Who knows? (Score:5, Interesting)
Valve may have some great talents on their staff. Half-Life was a shockingly good game and Half-Life 2 may well continue the tradition. But by god do they need some decent project managers and PR people. Since the announcement of HL2 last year, they've managed to make themselves objects of anger, frustration and sometimes plain ridicule for much of the gaming world. I'm sure a lot of this is unjustified morally, after all, nobody has a "right" to have HL2 by any given date (except possibly the people who got vouchers for it with their graphics cards *cough*), but that's not to say that any sane company should have behaved in the way that Valve have. If HL2 wasn't ready for release before the leak last year, and I don't think anybody now believes that it was, then Valve should have made this clear and been relatively open about the progress of the game all along.
Hell... even an ID-style "when it's done" would have been better than this endless succession of missed release dates.
Re:Who knows? (Score:1, Flamebait)
They get hacked. Hardly surprising given Gabe's stellar security on that forum, with the password of gaben.
They make up bullshit excuses about how the hack has delayed the game, despite various sources having checked the code that was leaked saying "No fucking way was this ready to ship".
They promote the shit out
delicious irony? (Score:4, Interesting)
I wouldn't get too excited (Score:5, Funny)
He played an early release copy, he said, and there weren't even any monsters, scripted encounters or real puzzles, only a couple of half assed maps.
I won't be buying a copy.
Re:I wouldn't get too excited (Score:1, Redundant)
Gabe's Password (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Is there still a market left for Halflife 2? (Score:3, Insightful)
I hear... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I hear... (Score:2)
Before anyone explodes... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Show some appreciation! (Score:5, Insightful)
But what appreciation should we show? What has Valve done that is so excellent?
1. They made Halflife, an excellent single-player game that deservedly won many Game of the Year awards 5-6 years ago. It had an excellent story line, and some good AI for some of the enemies (the marines.) The multiplayer was lack-luster and end of the game was weak.
Then what? NOTHING. They've done NOTHING since then.
1. They bought a mod team and distributed a half-baked copy of a great mod. (The great mod being Team Fortress, and the half-baked copy being TFC.)
2. They waited until another mod that they had nothing to do with became popular, (an internet phenomenon actually) and bought that one as well. (CounterStrike.)
3. They took a shot at a Guiness record for most re-releases of the exact same product by changing the box colors of Halflife about a dozen times. (They are only second to Lucas and StarWars.)
4. In the name of Online content distribution, they created the most intrusive DRM software to every make it to production. (It's called a STEAMing pile of crap.)
Valve has only released ONE GAME. They are still new to the business. (but pro's at 'giving the business.') They've been riding the on the success of amatuer mod teams since the beginning.
(Even though HL turned out to be a worthwhile product in it's own right, the great majority of the early purchasers were simply buying it as a platform for the much anticipated (still) Team Fortress 2. Valve had purchased (co-opted?) the design team or else we would have all been playing TF2 on Quake2 instead.)
Anyway...I don't bash Valve for anything to do with HL2. It looks very pretty and interesting. I'm skipping D3, but I'll probably get HL2. However, there's very little else in their entire history to credit valve with...except extreme luck.
Re:Show some appreciation! (Score:3, Interesting)
They haven't done nothing. They haven't RELEASED anything NEW. But if they hadn't done nothing, playing Half Life online would be like playing the original Diablo is now. (If you don't cheat, don't bother.)
Re:Show some appreciation! (Score:1, Informative)
They have been developing half life 2... they could have released 3 other generic doom clones like every other company and raked in the money... but instead chose to invest money in developing something better.
The multiplayer was lack-luster and end of the game was weak.
The end was weak, the multiplayer was lackluster because they focused on single player. They also gave you TFC for nothing.
They bought a mod team and distributed a half-baked copy
Re:Show some appreciation! (Score:1, Informative)
Arguably they've released the same game over and over again for the last 5-6 years but at $20 for the complete package of all of the new releases who cares?! I bought HL a few weeks after it came out in '98 for $50 and th
Original Post....cause of /. effect. (Score:1)
Valve Software
Posts: 32
Posted: Sep 16 2004, 12:27 PM
Yes, the RC went to VU yesterday.
It's there, it appears valid...if someone checked with him, Im inclined to believe it. Now, lets hope that after all this wait, it wont suck.
So what does this translate to? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:So what does this translate to? (Score:2, Informative)
[...] Valve has announced that they will be delivering an RC (release candidate) to Vivendi around the 15th of this month. That does not mean that HL2 will be out immediately thereafter. Vivendi will still have to approve the RC, a process that could take another two or three weeks, depending on their QA department and how fit the RC is to be released. If it were rejected, Valve would have to cook up another one and submit that for approval. Once
Great, now what I'm sure we all want to know is... (Score:1)